Simon
Killer may well end up being the most disturbing movie of the year. As a film
that traps us in its main characters mind as he goes from asshole into
something far worse, Simon Killer works better than most audiences members will
probably like. It’s not a pleasant experience to be inside of Simon’s head
throughout the course of this movie – and that’s a tribute both to director
Antonio Campos who directs everything to great claustrophobic effect, and the
lead performance by Brady Corbet, who has never been better than he is here.
The movie is at its best when it’s doing little to nothing – simply observing
Simon in long, unbroken shots that trap him, and us. It’s at its worse when
Campos and Corbett, along with co-star Mati Diop (the three also share writing
credit) try to force its characters into something resembling a plot. This is a
movie – and a character – who don’t take well to a narrative. In total, Simon
Killer feels like an early work of a filmmaker who is going to become great –
not quite a great film in its own right, but something worth seeing to see the director’s
development. It’s up to Campos if that proves to be true or not.

The
movie opens with Simon giving us his backstory – you would be forgiven in
thinking that he’s talking to his shrink, because that is what it seems like at
first, but in reality, he’s talking to someone he barely knows – the son of his
mother’s friend – who has agreed to let Simon stay at his Paris apartment for a
week while he’s away. Simon has recently graduated from University – and for
the first of many times, he tells someone that he studied Neuro-Science –
specifically the relationship between the brain and the eye (I could probably
delve into why that’s important to the movie – but let’s not get sidetracked).
His girlfriend of five years has just broken up with him – and things didn’t
end well. She’s scared of him, and doesn’t want anything to do with him
anymore. Throughout the movie, he’ll send some increasingly desperate e-mails
to her – and when she finally responds, it coldly. Simon just wants to get away
for a while and clear his head – he’ll be in Paris for a week, and then move
onto to somewhere else. He never gets there.

That
opening scene sets up the fact that Simon may not really be the “good” guy he
claims to be – something that will become increasingly apparent as the early
scenes move along – where even something as small as bumping into someone on
the street escalates to something much more than it should be. While these
scenes are not violent, the feeling of impending violence increases as the
movie goes along, and the film traps us with Simon, who is never out of the
frame. Things start to get worse when he meets Victoria (Mati Diop), a
prostitute at a club. There first session is brief – but their relationship
will grow throughout the movie – going from a typical prostitute/john affair,
into something more akin to a “real relationship” – or at least as much of one
as Simon is capable of having. Their frequent sex scenes are what made the MPAA
slap this with a NC-17 rating (although it was released “unrated) – and it’s
easy to see why. These are among the least erotic sex scenes you will ever see
in a movie – and become increasingly disturbing as they move along. The sex
scenes are really a power struggle between these two characters.

The
movie is at its best when its focused on Simon, or Simon and Victoria (who
reveals her real name – Noura) to him. To say both of these people are damaged
would be an understatement, and to see them fight for control becomes difficult
to watch. It’s less effective when it takes a prolonged detour into a strange
blackmail scheme Simon dreams up for him and Victoria to pull on her johns.
These scenes almost seem as if the filmmakers thought they needed to pad the
running time, or else add some sort of plot to the movie – but it’s a poorly
handled distraction more than anything else.

The
movie also is a little heavy handed in its treatment of the other major female
character Marianne (Constance Rousseau), a beautiful blonde Simon meets on the
street. Visually and otherwise, she is the polar opposite of Diop’s Victoria –
and the filmmakers try too hard to get the audience to see them as the virgin
and the whore. It’s all just a little too neat for my tastes. And while Diop
herself is great in the movie, I would have preferred even more of her – had
the filmmakers tried to make her a character with as much weight as Simon, it
could have elevated the entire movie.

Still,
Simon Killer remains a challenging, disturbing and uncomfortable viewing
experience to say the least. Campos got a lot of praise for his debut film –
Afterschool (unseen by me), which is also said to be extremely disturbing. On
the basis of Simon Killer, he’s a talent to watch – as is Corbet (who has
quietly built up an impressive resume) and Diop. Simon Killer is not a great
movie – but it’s a fascinating one. I want to see these three team up again.

About Me

I am an accountant, living in Brantford, ON - and although I am married and have beautiful daughter, I still find time to watch a lot of movies. This blog is mostly reviews of new movies - with other musing thrown in as well.